A former investor of fashion brand Jimmy Choo is reportedly on the verge of placing a bid for confectionery brand Fox’s Biscuits.

Towerbrook Capital Partners is said to be plotting a takeover of Biscuit International (BI), a private-label manufacturer whose operations include Northumbrian Fine Foods, a UK-based producer, according to Sky News.

Towerbrook is said to be in discussions to buy BI from Qualium Investissement, a French-headquartered buyout firm.

The company has reportedly drawn up plans to combine BI with Fox's Biscuits, which is owned by Boparan Holdings, the British food company whose founder is nicknamed 'the chicken king' because of his extensive poultry industry interests.

BI employs approximately 1,500 people, and owns production sites across the Continent, including at Gateshead in the North East.

The Northumbrian Fine Foods operation owns the Prewett's brand, and was acquired by BI last year.

It is the UK's largest gluten-free and milk-free biscuit manufacturer.